Breathe, verb, to inhale and exhale air or oxygen
by eyak
Summary: Zutara. It's the day before Sokka and Suki's wedding, and Katara hasn't seen Zuko since her brother's proposal. Oneshot.


_I don't own A:TLA or anything associated with it. I only own the plot of this story and this story only. I'm only doing this for my and other fans' enjoyment. **Thanks for reading!**_

* * *

Katara was washing the dishes and grunting to herself, "Ugh, making… me… do all… the work… oh if Sokka wasn't getting married in three days he would be so dead…"

Yes, it was true, Sokka finally asked Suki to be part of their family, officially. Don't think he wasn't the carefree, childish Sokka that we all knew, however. He had playfully proposed on their last trip to Ember Island, where he had made a sand sculpture of the two in the typical style of a water tribe wedding. Suki was beyond flattered and turned almost as red as her Kyoshi Warrior eye makeup. As usual, the group had critiqued his art while Toph sarcastically remarked that it "looked exactly like them" and that "they were perfect for each other." She said yes and Momo caught her attention and handed her a sea foam green choker with a contrasting copper pendant complete with an embossed picture of a fan and sword (in memory of space sword) with waves surrounding it. "Oh yeah," Sokka said, rubbing his neck, "so that's what I was missing…"

Enough about them though, Katara had many other things to worry about.

* * *

She hadn't heard from Fire Lord Zuko since the proposal, and frankly, she was planning on avoiding him as long as she could. What happened on Ember Island was due to the fact that the island had, as Zuko once heard from Li and Lo, "the abilities to reveal people's true selves." Yes, she had kissed him. She _kissed_ Zuko. Oh Zuko, her heart's desire; the man who showed her that second- even third- chances were worth giving. The man who showed her that she wasn't alone and that someone _understood_ her; the man who showed her that beauty was not just skin deep. She kissed him and spilled her feelings right before Sokka, Suki, and she left back for the village. She was so embarrassed that she didn't even look back for his reaction. _That_ was why she was avoiding him, but secretly, she wished for him to find her just so she could confirm that he thought about her too and it wasn't just in her dreams. She sighed, _only three more days until I have to face him again…_

* * *

It was the day before Sokka and Suki's wedding, and they were both nervous wrecks. No, _Katara_ was a nervous wreck at this moment. Suki had promised her a surprise this afternoon. She hinted that it was someone she hasn't seen in a while. Katara froze in her seat while Suki brought out the mystery guest. Was it Zuko, who her dreams and daydreams were about? Who made her blush every time she thought about him saying her name? She had to prepare herself; she was not going to run away. She took a deep breathe, calming her nerves and closed her eyes. She was _ready._ "You ready?" Suki smiled as she slowly opened the door, adding to the suspense. Katara nodded, and opened her eyes, waiting to see her scarred prince in the doorway.

"Oh Zu-"

"Katara!" a younger voice exclaimed. She furrowed her brows, focusing her vision on the airbender. It was _Aang_. She mentally slapped herself and smiled weakly. _Of course! How could I think it was _Zuko? Her smile widened nonetheless; she hadn't seen Aang in a while either. They had called off their relationship less than a month after Sozin's Comet, both realizing that they loved each other as a brother would love a sister and vice versa. She hugged him and joined Sokka and Suki.

"So Sokka, you never did tell us how you worked up the courage to kiss Suki the first time," Aang chuckled, raising an eyebrow. Sokka smiled and looked at Suki adoringly.

"I'm not sure, and I didn't what to expect either. I guess when it comes to moments like those the best thing to do is just breathe and live in the moment. Whatever happens happens," Sokka winked at Suki and she giggles, turning a blushing pink color and kisses him on the cheek. Katara smiled at the almost-newlyweds. She was happy for them, but couldn't help but feel a little jealous of their relationship.

It was later that day when Toph had stumbled her way to the rest of the gang grumbling.

"Stupid _snow_. Its way too cold here. What were they _thinking_, I can't go barefoot here!" The blind earthbender complained. The others enveloped her in a hug and she chuckled. "Alright, enough is enough. Hey, not everyone's here yet."

"Yeah, Zuko and Iroh are still on their way. They said that Zuko still had some things to take care of at the Fire Nation, something about putting down a…" Sokka was saying, but Katara wasn't paying attention anymore. The fact that she would get to see him again made her heart leap out of joy and anxiety.

* * *

She, Suki, and Toph were in their tent later that day getting ready for Suki's last night as an unmarried woman. That's right, _bachelorette _party. Katara was admiring the wedding robes that Suki was preparing for the next day. Suki was beaming and she looked gorgeous and calm, but on the inside her heartbeat was "as crazy as Sugar Queen's when Sparky is around" according to Toph. Katara glared at her, forgetting that the earthbender was blind and sighed. "Guys, nothing is going to happen between us. I ruined it, remember?"

"Yeah, but you guys _left,_ remember? I was still there to hear Sparky go on _and on and on_ about you. Ugh he kept saying how your hair smelled nice, and how pretty your eyes are. Try living with _that_ for three days," Toph rolled her eyes. Katara blushed and twirled her hair with her fingers.

"Aw! That's _cute_!" Suki gushed and clasped her hands together. Katara rolled her eyes and buried her face in her hands to try and hide her scarlet face. "You guys will work it out." Suki said, her expression becoming a little more serious.

Toph could feel familiar foot steps walking their way. She looked over to where the area Katara was standing and said, "Well here's your chance, Sweetness…" Suki lead Toph, who was smirking at this point, out of the tent and left Katara sitting on the bed, staring at the wall.

* * *

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, and she was mid-breathe when a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey…" Katara turned around and looked at her scarred friend.

"Zuko… Hi," she stood up and walked towards him. She was not going to run away and be a coward. He held out his hand and she looked at it, then back at his eyes. Oh his eyes. They were golden, contrasted his pale skin, and slightly covered by his hair. She took his hand and smiled. He smiled back at her and pulled her into a hug.

"I've missed you so much, Katara" He breathed into her hair. She blushed and smiled against his chest. She heard his heartbeat, nice and steady. _So far so good. _Her mind flickered back to Sokka's advice, to just breathe and live in the moment.

"Look, I'm sorry that I left you… back at Ember Island…" Katara sighed.

Zuko chuckled, "No, I'm sorry I let you leave. If you hadn't said all of that, honestly, I wouldn't have realized how much I loved you." _Breathe in, now out, Katara._

She was shocked at how straight forward he was, since he usually avoided anything that had to do with emotions. _Breathe in, out. _

"I missed you…" _Deep breathe in, deep breathe out…_ "And what I said never changed. I still love you" She smiled up at him. He kissed her forehead, her nose, and each side of her face, before kissing her lips. _Breathe, Katara, breathe_. She kissed him and it was like nothing both of them have ever experienced. Not even a bolt of lightning to the chest could compare to the intensity of the moment. Heck, he would do all that over again if it meant holding her in his arms like this forever. _Breathe, Katara,_ she reminded herself as she snuggled up against him. They stood in an embrace until Toph casually walked into the tent, raised an eyebrow, and smirked.

"Oh _hey_ guys, I didn't see you there!"

* * *

Hi! Hope you liked it! It was just an idea floating around in my head after reading a bunch of stories on here and I was inspired. I haven't written anything like this in a while so sorry if I'm a little rusty!

-Kaye

8/11/2011 edit: just minor superficial edits; a couple misspellings, a comma here and there, the works!


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